Dave Parry reviewed the Chamonix 045F1 in our last issue and we thought we'd ask him about his own photography and how he occasionally combines his love of climbing and landscape to make great environmental portraits.

Can you tell me a little about your education, childhood passions, early exposure to photography and vocation?

I always did pretty well at school, although I was never really into art I did play a lot of music, I was pretty handy on piano and clarinet although playing both at the same time was a nightmare (joke). My dad always carted his Pentax ME Super around in one of those leather everyready cases and shot a lot of Kodachrome. One of my defining childhood memories is sitting through endless slideshows of family holidays and our frequent jaunts up to the North York Moors to see the trains. I remember loading the slide carousels from those yellow plastic Kodak boxes and there was always a few rolls of film waiting in the fridge. My dad and grandad used to print their own black and white stuff in their bathroom so I suppose I've got a bit of photography in the blood, although I don't think my dad ever considered it as anything more than a documentary record of family events. Incidentally my sister has also ended being a bit of a photographer too.

The images gave me the impression Scotland was some kind of almost mythical realm that I must one day explore.

One early photo memory I have is seeing a slideshow by a local professional photographer called Barry Payling featuring his landscape work from Scotland shot on (I think) a Hasselblad. It was probably the early 90s so the shots will probably have been on Velvia or whatever Ektachrome people were using prior to that. I remember being blown away by the images and the fact I remember this one event 20 odd years later says something. The images gave me the impression Scotland was some kind of almost mythical realm that I must one day explore. I still feel that way today, as personally I've only scratch the surface of Scotland and I should get up there more.

As a kid I got into walking and camping through Cubs and Scouts, and this led in my teens to backpacking and scrambling and eventually to rock climbing and mountaineering when I was doing my A-Levels. My love of the outdoors, especially my local Peak District and higher mountains, probably started back then and I still am infected by it. We also used to have family holidays up in Northumberland quite a bit and on the North York Moors, so those places mean a lot to me now.

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Tom Phillips

Thanks for this article. I really enjoyed it. Some resonance with a few of my own inspirations.

I second the rave about the Lumix GF1. I carry mine around in company of a Bronica GS. I think there is a bit of a “yin and yang” that affects some of us landscapers: the bigger it gets, the more we also come to love the small stuff. The GF1 was dubbed “the poor man’s Leica” when it came out – partly because Leica produced a similar model that has some interchangeable parts, albeit at a cost (eg LCD viewfinder). I think it lives up to that tag, too.

Also very much agree with the comments about the iPad. It serves as much more than a datastore and scrapbook.

Interesting Tom – I never heard that about the Leica/GF1 – what model Leica was it?

Tom Phillips

Phew! Now you’re asking. I only saw one once, in the window of the Leica store in Paris. It was in the Leica D-Lux range, I think, but don’t quote me!. There was also a thing doing the rounds called a Leica Mirroless, but I get the impression this was really an unofficial customisation job on a GF1. Lots on the web about using Leica lenses on the GF1, though. The Lumix Live View Finder ((DMW-LVF1) was interchangeable with the Leica. Leica made their own model of the viewfinder for their own camera. It was considerably more expensive for exactly the same thing, save for the Leica logo.

I think the Leica camera you are referring is the Digilux 3, a short-lived foray into Four Thirds, rather than Micro Four Thirds. It was similar to the Panasonic Lumix DMC-L1, and also the Olympus E-330.
I really do like the ‘oil drums in the wall’ image.

Thanks for the response everyone, I enjoyed writing this. There is of course more of my work on my site, along with a reasonably regularly updated blog if anyone fancies more reading:http://www.daveparryphotography.co.uk/

Lovely work Dave. I particularly like the second image in the Article, keep being drawn back to that one!

RickB

I really enjoyed this piece Dave, some great images. In fact it was inspirational, I vow to take my camera’s to the crag more often and make the effort (although climbing mates will have to be patient). I like the phrase ‘climbers have a slightly different take on the crag and mountain landscape’ and am sure you are right about this. I agree about getting work in print, the Northumberland guides are the only place you will see my images (or any of me in person)but it does give me a good feeling to see them in print.
Great stuff, thanks.

Thanks for the kind words Rick! Glad it struck a chord with you. You mainly doing routes or bouldering? I always found routing in a pair was rubbish for taking photos, but if you can go out in a three it always gives you something to do as the spare body.